Recently leaked documents show that the US military knowingly held and tortured hundreds of innocent people at the Guantanamo Bay prison for years.

Secret files released by the WikiLeaks website indicate that the United States has released dozens of “high-risk” detainees, while keeping hundreds of innocent men for years, AFP reported.

The US military considers only 220 people of the 779 who have been detained at the facility since 2002 allegedly linked to terrorism and being dangerous to the US.

Another 380 of the detainees were labeled as being low-ranking foot soldiers who had traveled to Afghanistan, while 150 of them were innocent Afghans or Pakistanis who were drivers, farmers, or chefs, detained for years due to mistaken identities.

According to the National Public Radio (NPR), in at least two instances the US failed to release detainees even though while writing their files, it had been acknowledged that they were innocent and did not pose a threat to the US.

There are currently 172 detainees at the prison, many of whom have been held without charges for over nine years.

US President Barack Obama has failed to keep his 2009 vow to close down the prison within a year after taking office.

The Guantanamo detention facility was initially established at a US naval base in Cuba on January 11, 2002, under former US President George W. Bush.